Pet Owners: Keeping Your Home Clean
If you own pets, you probably know that they are not the ideal house guests when it comes to keeping a home clean. Of course, there’s no way you would give them up — after all, animals are a man’s best friend — but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t up your cleaning game if you’ve got them living in your house. The fact of the matter is that animals shed, leave behind messes, and can give off a not-so-pleasant odor. Whether you’ve got a cat, dog, fish, turtle, or any other kind of creature, keeping up with your home’s cleanliness is key.
So how does one go about keeping their home fresh, clean, and without mess? We’ve got a few pointers for you, including everything from regularly vacuuming the carpets to brushing your pets on a daily basis.
Getting rid of animal hair
Animal hair and animal fur are probably the two biggest qualms when it comes to keeping an animal in your home. Animals shed, particularly during the warmer seasons, so it’s important to be on top of cleaning, especially if you own a cat or a dog.
Vacuuming isn’t a chore that you’re doing once a month if you’re a pet owner. In fact, you should probably be vacuuming every other day, minimum, especially if your home has lots of carpets. If you keep up with the vacuuming, you won’t regret it. It will also be a major help with allergies, which can be common amongst both humans and animals. Additionally, animal hair and animal fur also loves to stick itself to soft surfaces, so using a lint roller on your furniture is also a good idea.
Furthermore, while regularly vacuuming is an essential task for anyone that owns furry pets, so is brushing your animals. Particularly if you’ve got a big shedder, taking five to ten minutes every day to brush your animal will help capture the fur and hair before it hits the carpet.
Dealing with messes
Animals can leave all kinds of messes around your house, whether that be a trail of cat litter or a chewed up couch cushion. Depending on the size of the debris, you’ll want to deal with each mess individually.
For smaller messes, including rogue cat litter, vacuums are the way to go. A great habit to get into is vacuuming around your litter box on a regular basis. Similarly, if your animal gets into any other sort of trouble that leaves behind a sprinkling of smaller particles, vacuuming can help save the day.
If it’s a larger mess that we’re talking about, like a chewed up shoe, shredded box, or tipped-over garbage can, you’ll want to be careful about using a vacuum, as you don’t want to damage your machine by jamming it with particles that are too large. In these cases, it’s best to resort to a broom and dustpan.
If you’re dealing with a liquid mess, including tipped water glasses or even a bathroom mishap, using an antibacterial wipe or mopping device is a must. You don’t want to leave behind any harmful bacteria.
Erasing unpleasant smells
Last but certainly not least are unpleasant animal smells. These can come from dirty cages, unclean tanks, and general lack of animal hygiene.
For dirty cages and unclean tanks, implementing a regular cleaning schedule is vital. The more often you clean cages and tanks, the easier it will be to continue cleaning them in the long run as they won’t have time to build up grime. This includes litter boxes, turtle tanks, fish tanks, bird cages, and any other sort of animal shelter that you keep in your home.
Furthermore, never discount the benefits of regular animal baths. If you haven’t bathed your dog in over six months, it should be no wonder why he’s leaving an unpleasant odor on the carpet and every piece of furniture he sits on.
The final word
So what’s the final word on keeping your home clean if you own animals? Investing in a good vacuum is a great start, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to routine. The more you actively keep up with cleaning your carpets, furniture, pet shelters, and animals themselves, the better shape you’ll be in when it comes to having a fresh and clean home.
Resources— PetMD, Clean My Space, The Spruce Pets
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